1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in a camera which is capable of accommodating an automatic optical unit in accordance with the operation of the operation member.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, cameras have become smaller and lighter. For improved portability, many cameras adopt a structure in which the lens barrel is extended out from the camera body when the camera is ON, while the lens barrel is retracted into the camera body when the camera is OFF.
Some cameras which have a plurality of photographing modes (such as a close-up mode, a night photographing mode, and the like) are provided with a dial which turns the camera ON/OFF, and sets the various photographing modes described above.
In the above-described example, however, the user may momentarily turn the camera OFF by mistake when trying to set a photographing mode. Even when the photographing mode is quickly reset, the lens barrel is retracted into the camera and then extended therefrom, which may be very inconvenient for the user.
For making the camera easier to operate, photographing modes which are used frequently are placed at both sides of the main switch OFF position. In this case, the dial frequently passes through the OFF position when setting a photographing mode, which often results in the lens barrel being retracted into the camera and then extended therefrom.